the very best red velvet cupcakes

I’m always a bit skeptical when people claim a recipe to be ‘the best’, but as this is my blog, and these are all my opinions anyway, I claim these red velvet cupcakes to be the best I have ever tasted.

I started the first online cupcake business in Cape Town called ‘The Cupcake Kitchen‘ in early 2008 and back when these small sweet treats were rising to iconic status (we are a little bit behind the times here is South Africa).

This is what I said about them before (and you can see a few pictures of the cupcakes I made):

‘Few food items can elicit such delight and happiness as the cupcake can. It’s an emotional and visual thing. As well as the fact that they are small and designed for pure and individual indulgence. Without a doubt the highlight of my business was the sheer sense of joy that these little cakes seemed to bring to people.

The Cupcake Kitchen has been laid to rest. I have moved onto other things, but my time spent, and lessons learnt from this endeavour, will forever remain very close to my heart.’

I tested dozens of recipes at the time, and the Magnolia Bakery- NYC recipe for red velvet cake is the best that I came across.

I am yet to make the ‘creamy vanilla frosting’ that they pair with their red velvet cake. It’s a complicated recipe that involves flour which I just can’t get my head around. I have been assured by a friend that it is indeed incredible, so its on my to-do list for the future. I like pairing this silky cupcake with a slightly tart cream cheese frosting.

When it comes to food colouring, I go straight for the real deal. A couple of tablespoons spread over 30 cupcakes is not going to have a negative impact, if it would at all. I have seen and tasted versions using beetroot as a colouring agent, but the taste of the beetroot comes through too strongly for me, and really makes it less desirable. I use only 2 tablespoons of Moirs Crimson Red liquid food colouring vs the 6 tablespoons the original recipe calls for. It is more than enough to deliver a deep red colour.

These look absolutely gorgeous. I wish I could pipe frosting like that. I am one of the naysayers about colouring – don’t like it at all but I do understand that red velvet cakes can’t be made without it and that beetroot doesn’t work. Maybe we should just move on from this strange fashion for red cakes. It hasn’t really reached us here in New Zealand. But I would eat that vanilla, caramel one in a heartbeat. What a lovely job, having a cupcake shop. Such creativity. You must make the best cupcakes – I will have to try some of your recipes.

Hi Leonie, I have no idea. Perhaps you over mixed the batter (a common mistake when baking cakes)? This can result in hard cake as you beat the gluten in the flour too much. Otherwise I am not sure. I make it exactly as per my instructions.

Hey Sam My cupcakes turned out deliciously and were a hit alike at our two-year-old birthday party (I think one little boy ate 4! Felt sorry for his parents after that sugar hit that night). See http://www.flavourcape.co.za/categories/recipes/ One thing: your text says you used 2T Moir’s crimson red food colouring, and your recipe suggest 3T. I used 2T in the cake mixture. Looked lovely.

Hi Kim, so glad the recipe worked out for you and was enjoyed. Doesn’t matter too much 2 – 3 T of food colouring. I find it such an impressive looking cake, and also enjoy it as a whole cake vs cupcakes. S x

Dear Sam, I am so happy to have found these beautiful cakes, since they’re my daughter’s favourite and now I have a trustworthy recipe. As always, your beautiful photographs and exquisite layout of your blog is a tonic for the soul. thanks for sharing your hard work and talent with us, it is a great, great joy to visit your blog.

Hi Josh, these look quite dark on the outside (maroon) but are actually quite red on the inside. This recipe has cocoa in it (essential for the flavour) – so that is why it is a dark red. If you were colouring a white cake batter, it would be brighter. I hope this helps. sam

I made a batch of these this weekend (also using 2T Moirs Crimson Cake Colouring). They came out too beautifully – a rich red. However, we all had red tongues and mouths afterwards – ROFL. Perhaps next time I will only use 1T of the colouring as I am sure it will still be nice and red. Did anyone else have this “problem”.

HI Lisa, I have never halved it and think it will be very difficult because it has 3 eggs. Unless you weigh 3 eggs, and then halve that accurately, and then halve everything else it would work. My advice is to make it all and freeze the leftovers.

Hi Linda, I have subsequently established (after contacting Moirs) that they have discontinued crimson red, but crimson Pink is the exact same colour as the old crimson red. I should amend my blog post. Thanks for the comment.

Hello! im just wondering how did you do the rose? and if moirs food coloring is not available in my country do you have any alternatives? By the way i like what you did with your cupcakes, instead of using sprinkles you used a rose. hope you can give me some advice because me and my friends are planning to do a small cupcake business and since were still minors we dont really know a lot of stuff in baking. actually i’ve never baked my entire life. thank you!

Can you post how many mL there are in your cup, tablespoon, and teaspoon measures, please? I have recently found out these vary between countries, which can influence the outcome of the recipe. Thanks.

Hi Sam. If I wanted to make a smaller batch of these cupcakes, could I use half of each ingredient? Would the cupcakes still work? I don’t want to make 30 cupcakes as that’s too many just to have around the house. Many thanks.

Hi Kim, I have never made a smaller batch because it has 3 eggs and this is difficult to split in half, but I would suggest lightly beating 3 eggs, weighing this and then dividing it accurately into 2 parts. you could eat the other 1 1/2 eggs on toast 🙂

I made the cupcakes over the weekend but used 4 eggs (smallish) instead of three, and used less flour. I first measured out the flour and then started incorporating it in stages, alternating with the liquid, and realised that at about 2 1/2 cups the batter looked right. They came out very well. The batter would definitely have been too stiff if I has added all the flour. I prefer weighing dry ingredients as I think they’re more accurate that way. Will definitely make again.

Hi Maria, I agree, weighing is much better, but cup measures are preferred in the USA and they are more convenient. I make sure when I use a cup measure for flour, I do not shake the flour in and rather scoop quite lightly so as to just fill the cup (must do so out of a large bag of flour) and then even off with the back of a knife. This batter is fairly stiff, but i like that as it makes it easier to scoop (I use an ice cream scoop). I have made it so many times and it has always been such a success. :-). Im glad your worked out well too.

Hi Jessica, it is really difficult for me based on the limited info you have here, to determine what could have gone wrong with your baking. I was not there. Did you follow the recipe to the T? did you overbake them? I cant understand how they can be dry. This recipe is particularly moist and velvety. The icing should not be runny – unless your butter was too soft and the cream cheese not cold? I have made this recipe a dozen times as have many people and it has always worked out perfectly. It is based on one of the most famous cupcake bakeries in America recipe, thus it is a total winner. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. It is a little tricky and needs to be followed quite precisely (when you measure your flour, dot shake it into the cup measure, simply scoop a cup out lightly, level off and use in the recipe).

Hi me, this particular recipe is for a velvety slightly denser cake mix. If you wanted a lighter one, take a lighter sponge mix (that you know) and adapt that. make it red. Remember the chocolate flavor.

‘Hi I tried so many red velvet cakes and cup cakes. This one was the best. I used a powder coloring from The Baker Bin and it was amazing. The cupcakes has a lovely chocolate flavor, not like any other red Velvet , not just the red colour and no taste. My big question, how can I make it a bit more moist. Can I ad a little more oil . My daughter want a red Velvet wedding cake and cupcakes as part of it. Would love to do it myself .

Hi Pat, Im glad they worked out. Personally I find them extermely moist and wouldnt mess with any of the ingredient ratios. I would say perhaps they are over baked slightly. As soon as cake is baked it should be removed from the oven. Anything past that is just moisture loss and hardening. Even 5 minutes can make a big difference in moisture levels. Its a fine balance to work out.

I’ve been using your recipe for over a year and it is always a huge hit! Everyone loves it. Red velvet isn’t all that popular here in Venezuela so people are always surprised and delighted when they try my cupcakes and some have even told me they have had a few in other places and mine have been the best, so thank you for that!

I was wondering, I’m making a layer cake for my boyfriend’s birthday and I want each layer to have a different color, sort of like a rainbow cake. So I have two questions:

1. Does this recipe work the same if I want to make green, blue and purple velvet as well?

And 2. Considering I want it to be a surprise and need to bake in advance, can I freeze the layers for a month? Thank you so much!

Hi Mariann – that is great to hear and I do get that a lot. YOu canuse any food colouring instead of the red, just adjust the quantity if you are doing it in seperate layers. I have seen blue velvet before. It will tur nout quite dark as the cocoa powder is in the mix. You can also very easily freeze cake, just wrap it well. (cake freezes perfectly). thaw at room temperature.